What are your plans? ~ the question of senior year
I am going to be a senior this fall.
[Wait, WHAT?!?! That can't be right]
Yeah, I'm not sure I'm ready for that but, because I am now a senior, the questions have begun. Things like, "What are your college plans?" or "Where are you going for college and what do you want to do?" or "So have you decided what you want to study in college?" or any other variation you want to choose.
The common thread through all these questions is the word "college". Everyone assumes you are going to college.
Now if I may go on a side note a bit here, I very clearly remember a girl in my youth group who was a senior my freshman year. She knew she was going to college, yes, but until she got there, she had no idea - at least not a for sure idea - of what she wanted to do. A lot of kids are like that. So, society, please stop expecting us to know what we want to do in college. We just don't know yet.
Okay, college. Because I knew that these questions would be coming, I had to come up with something to say ("I don't really know" doesn't really cut it :). I don't know what I want to do, but I really like photography and that is something I could do from home and set my own schedule, so there. I want to be a photographer. But I'm not planning on going to college.
I felt better now that I had an answer to "the question", but also kind of hesitant too. Not going to college isn't a very common thing; everyone just expects you to go. What would people think when they found out I wasn't going to college? But then I started wondering, "Why do I care?" I am doing what - at this point in my life - is the best path for me. The absolute worst reason to go to college is because everyone expects you to. I have an idea of what I want to do with my life and I don't need to go to college for it. So why spend thousands of dollars and maybe go into debt if I don't have to, right?
I have a backup plan. I'm testing out of enough classes to have the credits for basically the first two years of college (your general ed courses), so that if in the future I decide I want/need to go to college, I've got a head start. And I might take some photography classes at a college at some point. But it seems to make sense to me to go work for a photography studio or a photographer to get experience in my chosen field.
Reading up to this point, this post seems kind of like a rant (sorry), and I'm not really sure what I'm trying to get across, other than this: if you are not going to college in the traditional sense or at all, don't feel bad about it! Way to go you for not just doing what society expects when doing something else is better. If you are going to college because that's what your career path requires, way to go you! You know what you want to do and are doing the right things to achieve it. I guess I want to point out that there is no "right way" to go when it comes to college and your career, and your future. Make decisions based on your interests and likes and passions and future plans, not on what "everyone does."
I hope this made sense in some way and encourages you!
[Wait, WHAT?!?! That can't be right]
Yeah, I'm not sure I'm ready for that but, because I am now a senior, the questions have begun. Things like, "What are your college plans?" or "Where are you going for college and what do you want to do?" or "So have you decided what you want to study in college?" or any other variation you want to choose.
The common thread through all these questions is the word "college". Everyone assumes you are going to college.
Now if I may go on a side note a bit here, I very clearly remember a girl in my youth group who was a senior my freshman year. She knew she was going to college, yes, but until she got there, she had no idea - at least not a for sure idea - of what she wanted to do. A lot of kids are like that. So, society, please stop expecting us to know what we want to do in college. We just don't know yet.
Okay, college. Because I knew that these questions would be coming, I had to come up with something to say ("I don't really know" doesn't really cut it :). I don't know what I want to do, but I really like photography and that is something I could do from home and set my own schedule, so there. I want to be a photographer. But I'm not planning on going to college.
I felt better now that I had an answer to "the question", but also kind of hesitant too. Not going to college isn't a very common thing; everyone just expects you to go. What would people think when they found out I wasn't going to college? But then I started wondering, "Why do I care?" I am doing what - at this point in my life - is the best path for me. The absolute worst reason to go to college is because everyone expects you to. I have an idea of what I want to do with my life and I don't need to go to college for it. So why spend thousands of dollars and maybe go into debt if I don't have to, right?
I have a backup plan. I'm testing out of enough classes to have the credits for basically the first two years of college (your general ed courses), so that if in the future I decide I want/need to go to college, I've got a head start. And I might take some photography classes at a college at some point. But it seems to make sense to me to go work for a photography studio or a photographer to get experience in my chosen field.
Reading up to this point, this post seems kind of like a rant (sorry), and I'm not really sure what I'm trying to get across, other than this: if you are not going to college in the traditional sense or at all, don't feel bad about it! Way to go you for not just doing what society expects when doing something else is better. If you are going to college because that's what your career path requires, way to go you! You know what you want to do and are doing the right things to achieve it. I guess I want to point out that there is no "right way" to go when it comes to college and your career, and your future. Make decisions based on your interests and likes and passions and future plans, not on what "everyone does."
I hope this made sense in some way and encourages you!
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